The 2024 winegrowing year in retrospect

Helmuth Zozin - Director

2023 was a challenging year, but 2024 was even more so. We invested more hours of work in our vineyards than ever before.

2024 was one of the wettest years we have ever had. That was particularly the case in spring, with two to three days of rain a week. The result was strong growth and high fungal pressure. As an organic winegrower, you have to be extremely diligent in such a situation. From May to June, spraying and the application of biodynamic preparations and all the work done by hand called for an almost continuous seven-day week.
The fall was divided, with perfect harvest weather in the first half followed by a lot of rain again while picking the later red grape varieties.

The year began with a winter that was relatively mild and wet, with substantial snowfall in December and February. March was again warmer and wetter than average, and the new shoots were starting to appear by the end of the month. An early budbreak always involves the risk of frost. At the end of April, some of our sites by the lake suffered a late frost. The greatest damage was done to the Golden Muscat and Lagrein varieties, and production of the former will be down by a third this year and the latter by more than half.

In spring, there were signs of an early harvest, but rain in May and June slowed things down. Grape flowering began at the end of May. In July and August, we had several heatwaves with temperatures of 35°C and more.

At the start of the harvest in early September, things were looking good; everything seemed possible, including a vintage of the century. We had wonderful weather for the first half of the harvest, with sunny days and clear, cool nights.

We began with our best Sauvignon Blanc sites in Terlano for the Liebenaich and Tannenberg on September 6. This was followed by the Chardonnay vineyards for our Sophie and Pinot Blanc for the Eichhorn and Contessa. From September 15 to 20, we picked the Pinot Noir grapes for our Mason and Mason di Mason, followed by Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc from our higher sites for the Contessa. Up to that point, we had a perfect fall offering outstanding quality.

After that, however, the weather was mixed and challenging. From late September, during the grape harvest of the late-ripening reds such as Schiava, Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet etc., we had an unusual number of rainy days. It took a lot of painstaking selection work to ensure good quality grapes were brought into the cellar.

Regarding the white wines, we are talking about a great vintage, similar to 2023. We will only be able to assess which of the two will be the winner in a few years’ time. The 2024 white wines have a crystalline clarity with regard to aroma, and nerve and tension on the palate. They are about as moderate in terms of alcohol as the 2023 vintage, but perhaps a touch more puristic and so even more suited to long ageing in the bottle.

The Pinots hold great promise: 2024 follows in the footsteps of the great vintages of 2016, 2019 and 2022. My impression is that the 2024 is even one step ahead in terms of balance.

The Keil 2024 has surprised me: It has the fruit and juiciness of the very best vintages. The yield, however, was lower than ever. With less than 40 hl per hectare, we are on a level with the Burgundy Grand Crus.

Things are more complicated with the other reds. We have decided to adopt an extremely selective approach. We will not be bottling the Castel Campan 2024, and only half of the Cassiano and Rubatsch will be available. We owe this to our customers and their expectations. Following a series of great red wine vintages, this is something we can accept.

Our Conte, on the other hand, will be a winner: There will be more than usual, and the quality will be excellent.

Overall, we can be satisfied – with a difficult year successfully mastered. The yield was 10% lower than hoped for, while many more hours of work were required than anticipated. Ultimately, however, we are generally very happy with regard to quality.

The 2024 winegrowing year proves once again that meticulous manual work and the long-term rhythmic application of biodynamic preparations are a good investment and that the continuity of our work is paying off. The resilience of our vineyards is increasing from year to year, and harmony is now a stable factor. This is an incentive not to let up but to continue to perform every task as perfectly as possible throughout the year.

After every harvest, the work begins again: spreading the compost, sowing, pruning, setting up the new compost heaps, producing biodynamic preparations, tying work, shoot thinning, canopy management, plant protection, selective harvesting.

Each of these activities is important. In synergetic interaction and rhythmic continuity over the years, they strengthen the vitality of the vines and promote the balance of the soils. The key lies in daily working with skill and diligence and without compromise. Our team does exactly that and we are extremely grateful to them. Manual work in the vineyard is hard, strenuous and not exactly overpaid, but it is the cornerstone for the quality of the wines we bottle year after year.